>On NPR the other day they mentioned the drones used for border security are 18 million each.
The thing is, drone doesn't necessarily mean a full size unmanned aircraft with extended loiter times. A surveilance drone could be something massively cheaper and more targeted.
The RQ-11B Raven has a unit cost of around $35k, and honestly, even it's over-specced for a lot of what LEAs would want drones for.
You can build something fairly similar with obviously reduced capability for under $1K. The most expensive component that law enforcement would be after would be thermal imaging, even adding that capability would be far cheaper than running a helicopter.
If all we care about is cameras on the border then cameras on large poles would seem to be the most cost effective route. Why bother with something that moves, has fuel and operator costs?
The thing is, drone doesn't necessarily mean a full size unmanned aircraft with extended loiter times. A surveilance drone could be something massively cheaper and more targeted.
The RQ-11B Raven has a unit cost of around $35k, and honestly, even it's over-specced for a lot of what LEAs would want drones for.
http://www.army-technology.com/projects/rq11-raven/
You can build something fairly similar with obviously reduced capability for under $1K. The most expensive component that law enforcement would be after would be thermal imaging, even adding that capability would be far cheaper than running a helicopter.